Eating disorders don't always fall into neat categories. People with disorders that don't meet the criteria for a specific disorder may be diagnosed as Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) or Unspecified Feeding or Eating Disorder (UFED).

If a person is diagnosed with OSFED, they have an eating issues which don't quite fit the criteria for any one disorder. It doesn't mean they don't have a problem. For example, they may meet the criteria for anorexia nervosa but continue to menstruate, regularly purge without binge eating, or binge eat very infrequently.

UFED, on the other hand, is usually used when a patient clearly suffers from disordered eating patterns, but medical professionals don't have all the information they need to make a diagnosis.

Although Orthorexia hasn't been classified by DSM-V, it is recognised as an issue with links to eating disorders. Orthorexia is described as an extreme obsession with eating healthy food and avoiding â€˜unhealthy' food. Sufferers may restrict their eating more and more as the disorder progresses. Left untreated, or combined with other risk factors, Orthorexia can progress into a full-blown eating disorder.

It's important to remember that eating disorders are serious, whether anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or any of the other categories. All eating disorders have physical and psychological risks, and they can all be very dangerous if left untreated.

If you think your loved one has an eating disorder, get help now.

The first step is calling your GP for a referral to an eating disorder specialist.

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